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National Young Volunteers Scheme Launched

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Date:
July 20, 2015

Domain:Youth & Sports
Persona:
Citizen; Government

Description

​GIS – 20 July 2015: The National Young Volunteers Scheme (NYVS), aiming to create opportunities for youth to engage in volunteering activities at regional and national levels, was officially launched by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Yogida Sawmynaden, today at the Municipal Council of Port Louis.The event was followed by a workshop on the theme ‘Civic Engagement’.

An initiative of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the NYVS has as objective to promote a volunteering culture and spirit among young people aged between 18 and 29 years.It is expected that through volunteer actions young people can bring in their energy, passion, creativity as well as innovative solutions to pressing issues relevant to them as well as for the society at large.

Around 500 youth will be trained during the period 2015/16 and a pool of volunteers will be constituted in each Youth Centre of the country.The young volunteers will be given the opportunity to put their knowledge into practice and contribute in activities and projects at the level of Youth Centres, Youth NGOs and also during national events such as National Youth Day and Spécial Vacances.

This project also involves the production of a training manual and kit for youth volunteers and an action plan for 2015/2016.A comprehensive list of volunteers by regionwill moreover be published.

NYVS developed to nurture responsible citizens, says Youth Minister

In his speech at the launching ceremony, the Minister of Youth and Sports, said that the NYVS has been developed to nurture proud and responsible citizens and is expected to contribute in reshaping the Mauritian society by enlisting the effective participation of the youth in the development process for social transformation.

Volunteerism, stated the Minister, can transform the pace and nature of development.‘It remains a powerful means of engaging the active population in tackling social issues and benefits both the individual and society at large’, he pointed out.The Minister also observed that today volunteerism has drastically decreased.Therefore, there is the need to foster and inculcate once more, the volunteering culture among Mauritian youth, and the NYVS will help in that endeavour, he added.

Civic EngagementWorkshop

The workshop had as objective to discuss issues pertaining to volunteerism as well as challenges that are related to voluntary activities.

Around sixty participants comprising Youth Officers and representatives from NGOs attended.The resource person was Dr Cory Sparks, international consultant.He made a presentation on the theme ‘Volunteering and Civic Engagement’.